


Safe Harbor

by ms_nawilla



Series: Little Lights Stories [2]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Adoption, Aldera Palace, Alderaan, Canon/Legends Fruit Salad, Consent Issues, Coruscant, Dysfunctional parents, F/M, Gen, Jedi Temple, Legal issues, May The Fourth Be With You, Meeting of old friends, Midichlorians - Freeform, Obnoxious teenagers with politically incorrect feelings, Sacrifice, Speculative Obi-Wan Backstory, Telekinesis, coming to the Temple, consequences of unprotected underage sex, meeting of new friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:16:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23995876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ms_nawilla/pseuds/ms_nawilla
Summary: Bail Organa learns about giving up people he loves for the greater good and a small boy goes to meet his future.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Bail Organa, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Yoda, Original Character/Original Character
Series: Little Lights Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736215
Comments: 43
Kudos: 180





	1. Leaving Home

**Author's Note:**

> This fits into the same universe as _All the Little Lights,_ but it wasn't a scene that fit into that story. 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/22141849/chapters/52852210
> 
> I will eventually figure out how they fit together (series? collection? haven't decided yet). This can also be read as a standalone, you actually do not have to have read the giant, unfinished mega-story that is ATLL at all. This is also a little treat to celebrate May the Fourth. (Unfortunately when I started this on Saturday night, I thought Star Wars Day was Tuesday, so it might also be to celebrate Cinqo de'Mayo. Or knowing me, July 4th. In 2024.)
> 
> As mentioned in ATLL, someone who I cannot remember started referring to Bail Antilles as 'Big Bail' and Bail Organa as 'Little Bail' and I still don't remember who they are to credit them. This is also a Canon/Legends Fruit Salad: some details are picked up from canon or legends, others are ignored and it's all mixed together. Bail's family's names are taken from Legends and that's about it.
> 
>  **WARNING:** there are mentions of underage sex in this. The underage person involved has memories of said underage sex. Underage sex is not actually depicted. The underage person is a teenager. There are the biological consequences of underage sex mentioned and discussed.

Bail Prestor Organa opened his eyes. The sun was shining in through the windows of his room, the rays passing through the bead curtain, casting patches of colored light and tiny rainbows dancing across his coverlet as the stained-glass baubles stirred in the breeze. Birds sang in the palace gardens, searching for mates and welcoming the beautiful spring morning. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, free of clouds, no sign of rain nor chill in the wind. He sat up, taking this all in with a sigh. It was going to be a terrible day.

No one had come to wake him yet, so his time as his own for the moment. He went to the ‘fresher to relieve himself, then washed his hands and face and put on his bathrobe before he slipped into the adjoining room on near-silent feet.

In the first crib, the dark-haired girl slept peacefully, undisturbed by the trials of the day to come. She was too little, far too young to understand. She would not remember. He had been told she would just forget, that it wouldn’t be painful. Bail, unfortunately was old enough to remember and knew he would never forget. With a deep sigh, he turned to the other crib, staring down at the little boy within. Unlike the girl, he was wide awake. He seemed to know today was an important one, but unlike Bail he didn’t seem upset about it.

“Good morning,” Bail lowered his hand into the crib and the boy reached for him, clutching his finger in a chubby fist, making a happy noise in response. “They are coming today.”

The boy giggled quietly, waving his free arm and legs.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he told him. “I want you to stay and grow up here, and be part of our family, but they said you won’t be safe here.” He rubbed the boy’s small hand between his own. “It’s not fair. You shouldn’t have to leave just because you have too many things in your blood.”

The boy gurgled up at him, but not loud enough to wake up anyone else. The nurse had told him that he had sat up by himself for the first time last week, and he was old enough and healthy enough for the journey. She told him he would be just fine, that his breathing was good, his lungs had developed, he had passed his first sight and hearing screenings, and he was on track to start crawling soon. He was also babbling as was typical for a child his age, and Bail swore he had learned the baby sign language faster than he could teach it. The nurse had laughed when he had reported this, and explained that at six months old the boy would only just be starting to try to make the gestures, but Bail was quite certain they had had long conversations for the past month, even if he had done most of the talking.

“Good morning, your Highness,” the morning nurse came in with a pair of warm bottles. “Did you want to help feed the babies this morning?”

“Yes, please.”

At the nurse’s nod, he moved to sit on the low couch, patting the boy’s hand in reassurance before he left. The nurse finished preparing the bottles while he got a spit cloth out of the drawer and into position, then brought the boy to him before going to check on the girl. She didn’t have to ask which child he wanted to feed this morning. Everyone knew what day it was today.

The boy took to his bottle immediately, using his little hands to help hold it before looking up at Bail with eyes that looked too big for his face. Those eyes were still blue, but the color had begun to change slightly, not darkening to brown like the girl’s had started to but getting hints of shifting to a different shade. Bail tried to smile as the boy suckled, determined to act normal and not upset him.

“Everything going okay?” the nurse asked as she sat down in the rocking chair to feed the girl, now awake. “Does he have a good appetite this morning?”

“Yes,” Bail sighed. “He doesn’t understand what will happen.”

“You’re right, he doesn’t understand,” the nurse agreed as her own charge began to feed. “He won’t remember living here. He won’t remember the games you played, or the songs you sang to him, or the stories you told him. But he’s with you now, and he knows you’re safe and that you love him. He’ll know what good people feel like, what security feels like and he’ll know he is safe when he gets to his new home.”

“It’s not fair. He’s already happy. He already has people who love him. He’s safe here, he doesn’t eat much, and he loves us back. He should be allowed to stay.”

“That’s not our decision to make,” the nurse reminded him.  
  
“I know,” he replied, his voice quiet. The baby let go of the bottle to grasp at his wrist.

“Someday it will be your job to make these decisions, but right now it’s your mother’s responsibility.”

Bail sighed. “Rouge gets to stay.”

The nurse chuckled. “Of course Rouge gets to stay. Rouge is your sister, and a princess. And Rouge has a normal midichlorian count. Ben doesn’t.”

Bail narrowed his eyes, feeling mutinous. “His name is _Obi-Wan_. And they said he was borderline. That he didn’t have to go. That he could stay.”

The nurse didn’t react to the correction. “That was when he was a newborn, and they told us that might change. His abilities are starting to manifest. He needs to be with people who can teach him.”

“They said he’d be a farmer or a pilot or a builder. Why can’t he be those things here on Alderaan?”

The nurse shrugged. “He could grow up to be a knight. He can’t be that growing up here, even if it is a longshot. Don’t you want him to have that chance?”

“No,” Bail answered honestly. “I want him to be a prince, so we can grow up together.”

“Oh, I’m sorry your Highness.” The nurse looked truly regretful. “Lord and Lady Antilles would never allow that.”

Bail looked down at the baby in his arms, not wanting to see him go. “He looks like a prince.”

“But he’s not,” the nurse reminded him. “And he looks like Obilessa. Her parents feel she made a mistake, and her baby makes that obvious to everyone. And no one in her family knows how to deal with his talents. He needs help only the Jedi can give him.”

“But Mom is the _queen_. Can’t she tell them he has to stay?”

“Perhaps,” the nurse conceded. “But what about Obilessa? If little Obi-Wan stays, she can’t be a full lady in her House.”

“Why can’t she go to the Temple instead?” Bail gently pulled the empty bottle away, then moved Obi-Wan to burp him like he’d been taught. The boy’s belch was enormous, and was usually reason enough to make him laugh, but today he just felt like crying.

“She’s not the one spinning mobiles with the Force, your Highness.” She shifted Rouge to her shoulder, letting her burp too. Obi-Wan giggled at his cousin’s gurgling belch.

“We haven’t seen her in months and months anyway.”

The nurse shook her head, knowing the crown prince was just too young to understand, even if she privately thought the girl’s parents were being close-minded and cruel.

“Perhaps someday, when you’re both grownups, you’ll be the Viceroy and Obi-Wan will be a Jedi Knight and you’ll both get to work together. The Jedi Council sends lots of knights to work on Alderaan.”

“That won’t happen for a very long time,” he brushed the wisps of bright auburn hair on the boy’s head. Obilessa’s mother had said Obi-Wan’s daddy had bright red hair, but she said it was like it was something horrible. Bail thought it was very silly of Obilessa to decide to have a baby before she finished school, but it seemed even worse to give him away and never visit. He was so small and bright, and his smiles and baby giggles made him feel warm and happy, especially when he was allowed to hold him. The nurses said Obilessa never held him after he was born and never even visited him after he came out of her belly. It just made no sense to him. Obi-Wan loved his family and nurses, he could feel it when he held his hand, and held him in his arms. Obilessa held him in her belly for nine whole months, just like his mother had held Rouge. Why would she give him away if she had felt that warm love inside her for so long? Why did she let them take him away?

The nurse let him continue to hold his little cousin while she gave Rouge her bath until Bail’s nanny came in to get him ready for the day. Reluctantly he left, hoping he would see Obi-Wan again before he left.

* * *

When he came down for breakfast, he was surprised to see Obilessa’s parents at the table, arguing with his parents and his uncle, Big Bail. His uncle was a senator on Coruscant and was taking his shuttle back there today and would be staying for several months, so he was taking Obi-Wan with him. Obilessa’s parents never paid attention to him, even before _that glorified farmer shoved his damn spawn_ into Obilessa’s belly, so he wasn’t surprised when they took no notice of him now, but his father and Big Bail gave him a grim smile and a goofy face, respectively, while his mother sipped her tea and tried to look interested in what they had to say.

“Do we need to stay after we sign the paperwork?” Lady Antilles asked. “We’d like to leave before the paparazzo sleep off their drink.”

“That depends. Did Obilessa want to say goodbye to Ben?” Big Bail asked.

Bail’s father caught his eye and gave him a very slight head shake, warning him not to alert Lady Antilles to her grandson’s name change. Bail looked at his hot cereal and nodded. They wouldn’t have listened to him anyway.

"She said her goodbyes six months ago,” Lord Antilles declared. “She made a mistake, she’s put it behind her, and once we get that flame-haired predator locked up, she’ll never have to think of it again. Have the Jedi turned him over yet?”

Bail’s mother, Her Royal Majesty Queen Mazicia of Alderaan, did roll her eyes. “The negotiations are ongoing. The Jedi are charged with defending and preserving the Republic and upholding its laws. It should be no surprise to you that they believe in due process.”

“That _disgusting_ ,” Lord Antilles noticed Bail sitting at the table and abruptly altered his tone. “ _Man_ got my fifteen-year-old daughter pregnant. He should be in prison by now.”

“The child’s father just turned nineteen himself and has claimed Obilessa misrepresented her age. Give it time to work through the legal system. If you want the charges to stick you must let the system work.”

“The _system_?” Lady Antilles gasped. “You’re the _Queen of Alderaan_. Can’t you just charge him with treason and throw him into a dungeon?”

“No,” Mazicia blotted her lips with her napkin. “We had the dungeons converted into a second wine cellar.”

“He worked at the Vinland Monastery for the Agri Corps,” Bail’s father ventured. “We could hire him on as a wine steward.”

Big Bail covered a laugh with a cough. “Did you want to meet your grandson?” he asked. “You haven’t come to Aldera since he was retrieved from Stewjon.”

“The little brat was supposed to _stay_ on Stewjon. What if someone sees him on Coruscant and takes his picture?” Lady Antilles huffed. “It’s bad enough that Obilessa’s secret could get out, but if this goes public it could bring shame to the entire Elder House of Antilles!”

Mazicia shared glances with her husband and her brother. “I doubt the paparazzo on Coruscant would give a whit about the daughter of a minor Alderaanian noble who isn’t even on the planet.”

“I concur,” Big Bail tried to look authoritative. “Coruscant is a much bigger pond than Alderaan is. Even I don’t make the news most of the time.”

Lady Antilles sniffed derisively. Clearly her cousin didn’t know how to court the press. “I’ll feel better when _that man’s child_ is on that immoral city planet with the other Jedi perverts.”

Bail stared at Obilessa’s parents, wide-eyed. Mazicia cleared her throat. “I suggest you remain silent until the paperwork is signed, unless you would like a personal tour of the second wine cellar.”

“We left a few shackles on the walls for historical accuracy,” Bail’s father piped up. Lord and Lady Antilles finally decided to shut their mouths.

“Well, if Obilessa won’t be joining us, you can leave after you sign away all rights.” Bail caught the eye of the barrister sipping coffee at an adjacent table. “In fact, Brekli has everything ready for you. Why don’t you fill it out now?” Bail and Mazicia glared at the pair of them until they were behind closed doors with the attorney.

“The Jedi will take good care of him, Bail,” Big Bail assured him.

“Will they love him?” Bail asked.

“We don’t know,” his father was always honest with him. “Jedi have to control their emotions, so they might not love him like you do, but they _will_ care about him, they will act as his family, and they won’t treat him badly because of his name or who his parents are.”

“I like his new name,” Bail ate his cereal. “It rhymes.”

“It’s a fresh start,” his mother agreed. “And going to the Jedi is a fresh start for him too. He will be free to grow without his grandparent’s judgement.”

Bail sighed. He didn’t understand why Obilessa’s parents couldn’t just move to Coruscant instead.

* * *

Bail’s parents let him skip his lessons and gave his tutors the day off. He spent the rest of the morning in the nursery with Obi-Wan and his little sister, just talking to them both, rereading books, holding them so they could see each other, and rolling soft balls between them. Sometimes the blue ball would roll, even if no one pushed it. The blue one was Obi-Wan’s favorite.

About an hour after lunch a tall woman arrived, wearing a plain tan dress, a long apron and her hair under a crisp white veil. She was followed by his uncle.

“Good day,” she nodded at the nurse, then smiled at Bail, not waiting for the senator to introduce her. “I’m Sister Drish and I hear there’s a little one that is coming to the Jedi Temple.”

Bail studied her with cautious eyes. “Are you going to take care of him?”

Drish smiled reassuringly. “I am today. One of my jobs is to take care of babies when they travel to the Temple, but there are other Jedi who take care of them when they get there.” She knelt down across from Bail, looking over the babies. Rouge had turned her head in her general direction, but Obi-Wan had caught her eye, gurgling excitedly.

“Hello, little one,” Drish offered him a finger like Bail did every morning and Obi-Wan grasped it readily. “Are you ready to go learn about the Force?” Obi-Wan laughed in response, his Force presence opening for the nun.

“Oh, I see,” she smiled. “You already know about the Force. Perhaps I should ask if you’re ready to learn _more_ about the Force.”

Obi-Wan giggled, clapping his hands. “Yes, you _can_ see me in the Force.” She gave Bail a speculative glance. “You’ve had a little practice I think.”

“I’m afraid not,” Big Bail peered over her shoulder as the baby boy caught his eye. “The family isn’t Force sensitive. But he has been well cared for and loved.”

“Good,” Drish made a funny face, her lips creeping into a smile as the baby tried to imitate her. “A loving home in infancy helps the babies grow into calmer children.” She looked up at Bail, who was fighting tears. “You don’t want him to go.”

Bail broke down into sobs, like Rouge when her diaper had gone wet and cold. “I don’t want him to leave!” he wailed. “He’s just a baby, he didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Of course he didn’t,” Drish held out a hand to Bail, radiating comfort. “The Jedi path is difficult, but it’s not a punishment.”

Bail took her hand reluctantly. “But the Jedi don’t know him, and they aren’t allowed to love him, and he won’t remember us!”

Big Bail looked alarmed, but Sister Drish was in familiar territory.

“You love him very much, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Bail’s sobs began to quiet as he realized he was being heard.

“And he loves you back.” She leaned in close. “You can feel that, can’t you?”

Bail nodded, wiping his eyes.

“Jedi are allowed to love. They aren’t allowed to marry or swear allegiance or put their loved ones ahead of others, but they are allowed to love. They could not serve the people if they didn’t love them.”

“But he’ll forget us, won’t he?”

“Yes,” Sister Drish conceded. “He’s just too small to remember you, even in the Force. But you did something very important. You taught him how to love and be loved. That’s a very important lesson to have before coming to the Temple and _that_ is something he will remember.”

“He’s too little to understand. What if he doesn’t want to go?”

Obi-Wan gurgled again, looking intently at Bail as he waved his arms and squirmed, trying to move his body toward the boy. Unfortunately, he still found rolling over to be a challenge. Drish resisted the urge to sigh. This little one understood more than most.

“You’re right, he’s too young to understand everything, which is why the grownups are deciding for him. And the Jedi will tell him about his family when he’s older. When he’s a teenager he’ll be told basic information, and when he’s an adult he’ll be allowed to contact any of his family who register with the Familial Contacts Office.”

Bail looked at his uncle. “Obilessa’s parents won’t like that.”

Big Bail rolled his eyes. “Obilessa’s parents aren’t the boss of me, Little Bail. I’ll make sure to register with the office, and when you’re older you can too.”

To Drish’s pleased surprise, the baby had managed through rolling and pulling himself along to snuggle up against young Bail, and was reaching for him, obviously trying to get his attention. With care, Bail picked up the tiny boy with the beautiful bluish eyes and held him on his lap. The baby beamed at him, reaching for his face when Bail leaned in close, babbling excitedly. Clearly, he had something to communicate. After a few moments Bail sat up, crying again and making hand signs for ‘farewell’ which the baby copied clumsily.

“He wanted to say goodbye,” Bail looked at Sister Drish, struggling to accept the inevitable. “He knows he has to go.” He passed the baby to her, trying to smile through a fresh wave of tears.

“He does,” Drish confirmed. “The Force is telling him to go. But he does love you, very much.”

Bail picked up the blue ball and held it out. “Can he take his ball with him? It’s his favorite.”

Drisk took the ball and put it in her apron pocket. “Of course he can. Thank you for your sacrifice Young One. We will cherish this gift.”

* * *

Bail Antilles sighed as the diplomatic shuttle finally took off and began the trip to Coruscant. To his surprise the baby didn’t fuss, even as the cabin pressurized before lift-off, but he suspected the Jedi nun had something to do with that. He had expected the drama that accompanied any visit with Lord and Lady Antilles, his cousin still acted as if he were the only important member of the Elder House, nevermind that Bail himself was technically the head _and_ a planetary senator. He had not expected his nephew to react so strongly to the child leaving, but Little Bail was a sensitive soul who felt deeply. Usually he had a better handle on his emotions, but today was particularly challenging, even if it was all working out for the best. Ben, no, _Obi-Wan_ was his name, was getting the care and education he would need, Obilessa would be able to complete her own schooling, and her parents had ample reason to avoid both the royal court and the Embassy on Coruscant. Obilessa still had to give up her son, but the boy would grow up without the stigma of being a bastard.

With a lurch, the ship entered hyperspace. There would be no more communications until they dropped out into Coruscanti space.

“You can come out now, Coz.”

A pale, blonde, green-eyed girl in an ill-fitting nursing assistant uniform peeked into the main cabin. “You knew it was me?”

Bail rolled his eyes. “I’m not your parents, Obilessa. I know every member of my staff and crew.” He sighed. “Your son is in the rear cabin. You should take what time you can.”

She looked at the floor. “They didn’t let me see him on Stewjon. He was inside me, and then it hurt very badly for so long, and then he was gone. They said it was easier that way.”

“It’s up to you. I won’t force you. But many Jedi don’t grow up to get a chance to meet their families. It’s dangerous work, even if it’s the best place for him.”

“They said he’d be a farmer,” she sounded uncertain.

“Some farmers work in Vinland. Some work in war zones. Even farmers can die young.”

They could hear Sister Drish moving around the rear cabin and the baby making happy noises.

“He won’t know I’m his mother.” There were conflicting emotions in her voice.

“You’ll know you’re his mother.”

She stared at the closed cabin door for several minutes before she stood, hands shaking, walked to the rear cabin and went inside.


	2. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan arrives at the Temple, makes a friend and matters are settled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came out 5 times longer than it was supposed to. 
> 
> There are adult issues happening to underage persons and these issues are discussed. There are also young people with less than enlightened views and some slight homophobia but it's more due to immaturity and being sheltered than deep thought about the matter.
> 
> (Oops, the first part got cut out by accident, fixed!)

Sister Drish was sitting next to the crib, singing a simple song and levitating a blue ball over the baby’s face. When she got to the chorus, she let the ball drop down within his reach and he grabbed for it eagerly, laughing when it was snatched away, still dancing to the cheery melody. The nun did not turn to face her until the song ended and the baby was grasping the ball, drooling all over it in delight.

“Hello.”

“Hi.” Obilessa looked back and forth between the child and the nun. “Her Majesty sent me to help with the baby.”

“The Jedi Council sent me to handle the baby. But help is always appreciated.” She looked the girl over carefully. She looked sickly, deep circles under her eyes, her hand subconsciously resting over her stomach. “Have you seen him before?”

“No.” Her voice trembled.

Drish nodded. “Why don’t you just sit here and talk to him for awhile.” She led the girl to a chair, concerned by how bony her frame was. “He has to stay strapped in during the flight, but you can touch him. Perhaps you can tell him a story.”

“I don’t know any stories for babies.”

Drish stroked a hand over the boy’s hair. “He can feel you in the Force. He knows who you are. Tell him about the dreams you have for him.”

“I didn’t have dreams for him. I couldn’t keep him. He was supposed to grow up on Stewjon. I was never supposed to see him.”

Drish patted her shoulder. “You have some time. Dream for him now.” She went to the door. “I’ll be right out here if you need me.”

Obilessa didn’t look into the crib until the nun had left.

He had his father’s hair.

His face looked like her little brother’s.

His eyes were intelligent in a shade she had never seen before.

She closed her eyes and remembered his father’s touch that first time, so much more nervous than she was, so much more gentle than Broxin’s harsh, demanding kisses when the chaperone wasn’t looking.

She remembered the feeling of the baby growing inside her, first an illness, a dread, a trial, then a spark and a flutter and a warm light, then a bulge too big to hide that became a bump that moved with purpose, that kicked back when she tried to rub away the pain of flesh too young, stretched too far, and then the feeling of fullness, so big, _so damn big_. She didn’t think it was possible for one tiny baby to be so large and heavy and to _stay inside her_ , surely she would simply tear open and he’d fall out and it would all be over, but every day, _every hour_ , he just got _bigger_ , and there was no more room, no more, surely her organs were being pushed up into her throat, and every time he moved she had to stop, gasping, feeling strange, alien sensations deep in her pelvis, far deeper than his father had ever touched, and they told her the head was dropping and the pains would begin soon. They had been right, but even during the worst of the pain as she struggled to push him out, _to cast out her shameful mistake_ , she had felt something else.

Love.

That Love was inside her. And then it was outside her and she realized it wasn’t hers.

She opened her eyes and could feel it again. Keen eyes bore into her own. He knew who she was. She wondered why he still loved her when she had gone away. She wondered when he would stop loving her, when he’d forget her entirely. When her bad decision would finally disappear like the fading stretch marks she had to put bacta cream on every night.

She closed her eyes again and remembered his father thanking her that first time, hoping he’d done alright since he’d never been with a woman before. She didn’t tell him he still hadn’t, that she was just a girl. A girl with good clothes and makeup and big enough breasts to look like a woman.

She was fairly sure the lawyers had told him instead.

She reached out at last and let the tiny boy take her finger. He didn’t fuss, just looked up at her solemnly, and she could feel that love that used to be inside her, and her finger tingled in his grasp.

She wished she could have loved his father, but Jedi weren’t allowed to love, weren’t allowed to marry, and that’s why it had to be him before it was Broxin. Broxin wasn’t going to wait three years.

The baby didn’t look like Broxin. He looked like a Jedi. And if he went to the Temple, he’d never see her again.

He’d never see her parents at all.

Maybe he’d meet her cousin Bail. He was a senator. He had power.

They stared at each other as she tried to memorize his face. She wondered if he was doing the same.

* * *

They reached the Temple so much sooner than she had been expecting. Sister Drish had brought her a warm bottle of formula and showed her how to hold his head, feed him, burp him. The nun let her watch as she changed his diaper, let her help when she stripped him bare to do some health checks, let her hold him when they had dropped out of hyperspace and waited to transition from space to atmosphere, and then the Temple was in view. It was so plain, smooth and brown, like a Jedi’s robe. It wasn’t sunny or bubbly or welcoming like the baby’s father had been.

There were no grasses or trees or singing birds like Vinland. Just traffic and air car exhaust.

Cold.

It reminded her of the home on Stewjon.

Sister Drish let her guide the floating stroller while she carried the small diaper bag. The baby clutched his ball, babbling as he lay in the stroller, staring first at the sky, then at the ceilings above. Obilessa followed his gaze and was surprised to find many of them were painted in patterns as complex as the inlaid floors.

The nun led them through an enormous, busy room with art on the walls and people in Jedi robes walking every which way and then they took an elevator down to someplace called the North Terrace and then further down to a business suite that said “Intake” and looked like a doctor’s office. The nun explained that the baby would be examined, an official midichlorian count would be taken, and if his health checked out, they would be allowed to say goodbye before he entered the Creche.

“What if there’s something wrong with him?” Obilessa asked. “Will I have to bring him back?”

“If he has a virus or infection, he’ll go the Healer’s Hall. If he doesn’t have one we can detect, he’ll go the Quarantine, separated from the main Creche for two weeks.”

“What if his count is too low? They said it kept changing.”

“His guardians already signed him over. If his counts are low for a Jedi, he’ll probably end up in the Service Corps. If they are very low, he could be put up for adoption here on Coruscant. If his guardians had chosen a provisional change of custody, he would have been returned if his counts proved too low or if he failed to develop enough to enter the initiate program, but they didn’t. Regardless, we will find a place for him.” Obilessa looked relieved. Bail looked disappointed.

His exams were done quickly. An actual healer, not a droid, came to perform the check up and take the samples. Obilessa held her breath while the count was run. The healer let them know the number as she entered it into his record.

Both Bail and Obilessa turned to Sister Drish for context. It sounded high to them.

“It’s on the high end of borderline,” she told them. “But Alderaani babies run low sometimes. He might be a farmer, or an engineer. He might be a knight. He might be a monk. But he won’t be turned out for his midichlorian count. One way or another, he will be a Jedi.” She put the baby back in the stroller and led them back down the hall to another room. This one was a bit homier, with soft rugs and plush couches.

“This is the Receiving Room. Take a few minutes with him. The creche nurses will be here soon.” Sister Drish sat on the other side of the room to give them privacy.  
  
“Are you okay?” Bail asked gently.

Obilessa looked pensive. “Do you think he’ll be happy here?”

Bail sighed. “I think he’ll be safe, cared for and content. I honestly don’t know if Jedi are supposed to be happy.”

After a time a dark-haired woman and a short, green lizard-like alien came into the room. Sister Drish bowed her head respectfully. The nurse explained that she was there to answer their questions about the baby’s care in the Creche, while the Master Jedi was here if they needed to discuss the diplomatic situation. Obilessa tried not to squirm under the strange creature’s gaze. Big Bail pasted on a neutral expression and launched into a monologue about not wanting to discuss the ongoing charges against the Jedi in front of Obilessa without actually mentioning said charges or that the nursing assistant was in fact Obilessa.

The woman seemed to catch on about wanting to be discreet, but the little old reptilian seemed to see right through him. Bail hoped he took it as simple diplomacy as opposed to dishonesty. For her part, Obilessa was giving no obvious hints of her identity, but looked a little too distressed to be a totally indifferent bystander.

It was at that moment that the baby began to fuss. Obilessa paled, her fear that the Jedi would still reject the child overcoming embarrassment over his misbehavior. He wasn’t crying, he was just making the usual happy baby noises, but Bail had never seen small Jedi children, only padawans, and he was desperately hoping the boy wasn’t blowing his audition at the last minute. Sister Drish glanced at the stroller, but the baby did not sound distressed, so she kept her distance.

Bail could see that his cousin was in no state to ask half-way intelligent questions, so he asked them himself, ensuring that the Jedi had received Obi-Wan’s full medical records, his maternal medical history, and his latest neurological scans, then asking about the facilities provided for Jedi children and what contact if any families were permitted to have. The nurse explained that the Jedi had limited possessions so parents should not send gifts beyond a soft toy or two when they were accepted into the creche. She had gone on to explain that the Jedi would do extensive genetic, cognitive and physical screens on the child (who had mercifully gone quiet) to learn more about his potential Force abilities (and other talents) as well as to check for heritable diseases and susceptibilities. She was skimming the report Bail had provided and asking about genetic diseases in the Antilles family when she stopped suddenly and peered at the stroller, eyebrows raised.

“What?” Bail asked. Obilessa followed her gaze, tense.

“He was doing that on the way here,” Sister Drish interjected.

The nurse gave them a reassuring smile. “The baby is reaching out with the Force.” She suddenly turned to face the stroller again. “He’s a little . . . loud.”

“One of his caregivers was mildly Force sensitive,” Drish reported. “He’ll learn to modulate to more sensitive people soon enough.” Both women winced slightly and this time the probe was punctuated by a tiny verbal call from the baby.

“Hmmm,” the reptilian master hummed, cocking his head as if he could discern some meaning from the sound. Obilessa stared at him, frozen in fear. He reached out and patted her hand reassuringly, then slipped off the stool he had been standing on.

“Oh dear,” the nurse watched him go toward the door, then turned to face Bail to apologize. “I’m afraid Master Yoda is very strong in the Force and the little one is quite disruptive. He does not mean to give offense.”

Bail opened his mouth to assure her it was quite alright when his brain finished processing what she had said and he froze, eyes going wide. “Master _Yoda_?”

“Yes,” the nurse nodded, projecting calm.

“ _Grandmaster_ Yoda?” Bail whispered urgently. Drish chuckled from her corner.

“Yes,” the nurse confirmed. “You probably thought he was taller?” she asked gently.

Bail lowered his head into his hand. “I’ve never seen a holo of him, just his name.” He glanced at Obilessa, who was not entirely sure exactly what was wrong. “My sister is going to _kill_ me.”

The nurse laughed. “I think you can be forgiven for not recognizing him. He usually doesn’t come to meet the babies until they leave Quarantine.”

It was quite the faux pas. Jedi Master Yoda had been a frequent negotiator at the Aldera Biennial Summit. When Bail’s grandparents had been young. Two generations before the Elder Houses of Organa and Antilles had been joined by marriage. So he hadn’t grown up with portraits of Jedi Master Yoda the Venerable on the walls of his home. Unlike his brother-in-law, the king. At least Little Bail had a better chance of avoiding this particular screw up if he grew up to be senator.

“The Grandmaster doesn’t make many public appearances these days. It would not be expected that you would recognize him.”

Bail was about to say he really only knew that deep-voiced Jedi on the holonews when the baby erupted into a joyful screech. Everyone turned to the stroller to see the revered grandmaster crouching low at the foot of the stroller, his long ears pointing straight up as he slowly stood to peer over the edge to the absolute delight of the baby who screeched again, arms and legs waving.

Grandmaster Yoda was playing Peek-a-Boo.

“Ho, see you I can,” he teased.

The baby babbled at him very intently, as if he had something important to say and was confident he would be understood.

“Oh?” Yoda peered into the stroller. “Long trip you had? Sailed through the stars you did?”

The baby giggled and moved his hands with clumsy purpose.

“Yes, a good morning it is,” Yoda made the same sign back. “Even though afternoon here it is. Still a baby you are. Many naps you take, always morning it is.”

The nurse raised her eyebrows again. “Does he use baby signs already?”

“Yes,” Drish confirmed. “I counted at least four.”

Bail frowned. “My nephew was teaching him because he said the baby wanted to talk. His nurses said he was too young to get it yet.”

“ _Get it_ he does,” Yoda signed back, and the baby clapped in delight. “Hmm, but speak mind with the Force better you can.” He reached out a clawed hand. Obilessa bit back a reflexive gasp, but subsided when he stopped and the baby reached out to grasp his finger just like he had held her own mere hours ago.

“He’s not afraid of him,” she sounded puzzled. “Even though he looks strange.”

The nurse smiled gently. “There are some babies and older children who are initially frightened by Master Yoda, but many can feel him in the Force and aren’t afraid. Or they just find his ears fascinating.”

The baby had gone silent. Sister Drish leaned forward, trying to get a better view.

“Oh, see this I do. Feel the Force you can.”

The baby made a soft sound. Yoda rubbed his thumb over the fist clutching his finger.

Sister Drish stepped up next to Bail, watching the grandmaster and the baby. “They’re communicating,” she explained. “That’s unusual in one so young.”

“Is it because he’s borderline?” Obilessa asked, interpreting unusual as a negative.

“No, it means he’s probably not. Alderaani babies sometimes have low blood counts when their overall counts are higher. That’s why the embassy has started investigating even borderline babies on Alderaan. Genetic quirk they think.”

“So he could be a Jedi?” Obilessa asked, sounding hopeful. “He can stay?”

The nurse glanced at his numbers, inadvertently grimacing. “He can definitely stay, but as a Jedi at the embassy told you, he will probably end up in the Service Corp.”

Drish looked incredulous. “His count is definitely higher than that, though to be honest, he felt like a future monk to me.”

“No,” Master Yoda’s voice was gentle, but it carried across the room. “This time not.”

“Master?” The nurse looked perplexed. “His counts are—”

“Trust machine over the Force you do?” He pinned the nurse with a sharp glance.

“No, Grandmaster.”

“Strong in the Force he is, very eager to learn he is. Stronger in the Unifying Force he is,” he carefully slipped his finger from the boy’s grasp. “Healer and caregiver you are, stronger in the Living Force you are. Notice it you have not.” He turned back to the stroller, stroking the baby’s hair. The baby sighed contentedly. “Monk he could be, yes, but no, this time probably not.” He stroked down the boy’s cheek, smiling at him. “Yes, trained for Jedi Knight you are to be. Strong you are in the Force. Much Light in you there is. Great gift to the Jedi you are.”

The nurse coughed, feeling the tiny master was laying it on a little thick for diplomats with a grievance. “Yes, well that’s a possibility,” she trailed off, stunned as the tiny master lowered the stroller, reached in and picked up the baby and held him up so they could see eye to eye.

“No, a farmer you are not. Jedi heart you have.” He lowered the boy to cradle him against his chest, the motion smooth, as if he had been doing so for years. Centuries.

“Master?” the nurse looked positively baffled.

Sister Drish shrugged. “He felt monkish to me, but I bow to your greater experience, Master.”

“Yes,” Yoda nodded. “Feel that I can, possibility that is, but no, the Force telling him that a knight he is to be trained for.” He gave the nurse a pointed look. “Listen to the Force you should, not to computer.”

“Being a knight is dangerous,” Obilessa spoke, barely above a whisper, but the master’s ears perked up.

“Being a Jedi dangerous is. Being alive dangerous is. Kill you it will.” He walked over to her, carrying the baby, much less awkwardly than one would expect. He nodded his head, gesturing for Obilessa to sit on the low stool. “Correct you are. A Jedi a dangerous life lives. Hard to give up people you love it is, but teach him we can, help him reach his potential we can.”

Obilessa reached out and stroked her son’s cheek. The boy met her eyes and babbled happily at her, but didn’t reach back, quite content snuggling against the little green master. “His father was a farmer.”

“An agricultural scientist his father is. Stronger in Unifying Force than Living Force he is, affinity for science he has more than plants. Very intelligent he is. Very naïve he is also.”

“I know,” Obilessa admitted. “I didn’t want to get him in trouble.”

Bail made a choking sound, trying to figure out how to stop this conversation without causing more trauma to his cousin or a diplomatic incident.

“Got himself in trouble he did,” Yoda looked her over carefully, feeling her with the Force. “Quite that much trouble he was expecting not?”

Obilessa nodded. “I lied to him. He thought I was older. In university. On birth control. He was kind to me. Sweet. He didn’t hurt me or force me or coerce me. Everyone keeps calling him a pedophile, but he really didn’t know.” She closed her eyes, fighting tears. “My parents wouldn’t listen about that and . . . I don’t want him to not be able to see the baby because you think he’s a monster.”

Yoda’s gaze was sympathetic. “Know I do that monster he is not. Stupid mistakes made he did, but Dark heart he has not. Why lie to him did you?”

Bail put a hand on Obilessa’s shoulder. “You don’t have to answer that.” He braced himself to be thrown out of the Jedi Temple, already trying to figure out how he would explain this to Mazicia.

“Tell me why do not have to do,” Yoda agreed. “No wish to punish you I have. No power to punish you I have. Entrusting us to raise your child you are. Ask what happened some day he might.”

Obilessa nodded up at Bail. He looked down at her, concerned

“Do you want me to leave you alone?” he asked gently.

She reached up and squeezed his hand. “No.” She looked into his eyes. “Can you just promise not to tell my parents?”

Under normal circumstances Bail wouldn’t have agreed, but he had seen new, incredibly dysfunctional sides of his kin throughout the whole ordeal. “Okay.” He was starting to think Obilessa needed her own attorney, one not on her parent’s dime.

She looked back at Yoda. “My parents bethrothed me to a cruel man. He would hurt me when no one was looking. I couldn’t get out of it. They weren’t listening. They said it was my duty to the family. If I got pregnant with someone else’s baby, _his_ parents would call it off.” She reached over and offered her finger to the baby, who grasped it firmly. Her finger tingled again, just like she sometimes felt, deep inside, when she was carrying him. She wondered if this was the Force, or if all mothers felt it. “I didn’t want him to grow up thinking his father was a child molester.”

“Obilessa,” Bail sounded deeply disturbed. “You could have come to me. They can’t force you to marry anyone.”

“They’re my parents,” she whispered. “She said you’d agree with them.”

“I would never do that to you,” he assured her.

“I know that now,” she answered him before turning back to the master. “I don’t want him and the baby to be punished for what I did. I just needed someone to help me. Jedi are supposed to help people. I didn’t think about what would happen after or to anyone else.”

Yoda looked at her for a long time. The baby was silent, looking back and forth between her and the strange lizard. She could feel things from the master, similar to what she had felt watching her son, similar to what she had felt on lonely nights in the home on Stewjon. But it was different. Deeper. Older. Mature. Keenly intelligent.

“Ask you to speak of this to your parents I do not want. Ask you to testify in courts I do not want.” He sighed, then looked to Bail. “Discuss this with your sister you could? Settled this matter must be, but move forward better if truth known by both parties is.”

Bail couldn’t argue with that. “Do you think you can talk to Mazicia about this, Obilessa? I can tell what you told me if you give your permission, but I think she would prefer to hear it from you.”

“She’ll talk to me?”

“Yes. You had a baby too soon Obilessa. It’s not as if you tried to overthrow her or steal the crown jewels.”

Obilessa smiled faintly. “I’ll tell her.” She looked back at Yoda. “If I tell the truth, will he still be punished?”

“Yes,” Yoda’s voice was solemn. “But punishment for naïve being less harsh is than for malicious being. Talk to queen you will, then talk to queen I will. Teach him how a better man to be we will. Teach you how to be independent lady Bail and Mazicia will.” He looked down at the baby. “Teach him how great Jedi to be we will. Go on life does. Mistakes both of you made, but try to hurt each other neither of you did. Beautiful baby you made together. Wait until ready you are before making more beautiful babies you should.”

“Would the Jedi take all my children away?” she asked, fearful.

“Hmm, a touch of the Force you have. That’s why feel him you can. If your babies you want to keep, sleep with Jedi not.” He smiled, eyes twinkling. “But very pleased with gift we are. Interesting genes you have. Stronger than both of you he is.”

“He looks happy,” she sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I think he’ll be happy here.”

“Happy he is now.” The baby burbled at him and he looked down at him fondly. “Yes, happy you are.” The baby sighed, staring at him adoringly.

“Are you going to teach him to be a Jedi?” Obilessa asked.

“Hmm, teach many younglings I do,” he patted the boy. “But his master I will not be.” The baby squirmed, babbling at him. “Oh, want crusty old Yoda for master you do? Hee, hee, ambitious you _are_ , young one.” He turned back to Obilessa. “ _Probably_ his master I will not be, but teach him many things I will.” The baby made a happy sound as if he agreed with this. “Many teachers he will have, and if training for knight to be he does, a master he will have. Other types of Jedi there are to be, but, hmm, train him to be knight I think we will.”

Obilessa leaned down and kissed her son softly on the cheek, then sat up and looked Yoda in the eye. “Thank you for taking care of him.” She looked up at Bail. “It’s okay. We can leave him now.” She drew her hand away from her son. “He’s happy here. He’s one of them.”

“Register with Familial Contact Office you can. Let him contact family we do when eighteen years old he is if want that he does. Also inform you we will if pass into the Force he does, or heritable disease he develops, if choose that you do. Promise I cannot that contact you he will. Decide this now you do not have to do.”

She looked up at Bail. “I don’t want my parents to be contacted.”

“I can be your contact, Obilessa. Mazicia insisted, but I was going to do it anyway.”

“I can take you there,” Sister Drish volunteered. Obilessa stood and followed the nun, along with Bail. She didn’t look back.

The nurse looked down at the baby skeptically. “A _knight_ , Master Yoda? Really?”

“Yes. Train him as knight we should. Very clear the Force is.” He smiled down at the boy. “Monk he could be, but hmm, farmer not.”

“I’ll believe he could be a monk, but he may not have enough midichlorians to be a knight, even if he _is_ half-Alderaani.”

Yoda ignored her, his attention focused on the baby. “Oh, monk you do not want to be? Been there, done that you have? What other things done you have? Tell me you should. Forget this when older you probably will.”

The nurse rolled her eyes, fairly certain the wise master was pulling her leg. She retrieved the stroller and brought it up next to Yoda. “Let’s get him into Quarantine.” She moved to take the boy from him, but Yoda was already walking toward the door, carrying the boy who laughed, clapping his hands in delight.

“Oh, think funny it is that carrying you I am? Think that carry _me_ you should do? Bigger for that you must get. Heh. What else do together we should? Hmm, yes, watch stars we can. Dance with lightsabers we can. Learn to walk first you must. Oh, meditate also you want to do? Yes, do that we can when older you get. For now, sit in rocking chair we can, feel the Force together we can.” The nurse shook her head and followed.

Master Yoda loved all the children the Jedi took in, but he seemed particularly taken with this one. The baby might never be a knight, but he definitely had a new friend already.

Or an old one.

* * *

From:

Barrister Googli Blorb

JTCC Legal Department Ste 7845

Jedi Temple Coruscant Complex

Temple District

Coruscant, Galactic Core

To:

Mr. Ben Lars

Comm Terminal Station 05-77Z-H00-ORbul516

Anchorhead Comm Center

Tattooine, Outer Rim Territories Zone 5Z887

c/o Lef Lars

**CONFIDENTIAL: do not access if you are not the addressee.**

Attn: Mr. Ben Lars

We are writing to inform you that the pending charges of 1) rape, 2) statutory rape, 3) sexual assault and 4) corruption of a minor as alleged by the Vinland Prosecutor’s Office have been dropped at this time. If you agree to the following terms, sign and notorize the attached documents and return them within 30 days of receipt, the charges will not be reinstated. The terms are as follows:

  1. You are not to return to Alderaan. If you have any remaining belongings at either Vinland University or the Vinland Jedi Monastery, they will be kept under the care of Brother Jevis Bret and will be sent to you when you have a less transient home. You may not return to Alderaan for a period of eight years, and your credentials have been flagged for this time interval. If you are forced to enter Alderaani space in an emergency you must notify traffic control as soon as possible. These conditions also extend to the former Alderaani colonial worlds Stewjon and Colstev
  2. You may complete your university studies via correspondence courses until your degree requirements are met. You may not return to the university for graduation or attend any alumni events until the eight-year ban has elapsed. There are no restrictions on contacting your professors, advisers, or Jedi personnel in Vinland provided you remain offworld. The university will not penalize you for lack of attendance related to your legal charges.
  3. The Jedi High Council has decided that in light of the most recent testimony and evidence you will not be expelled from the Order, but that you are under censure for your action and are to report to the Temple on Trell for re-training and therapy. You will be permitted to continue your studies while there and will remain on Trell until such time as you are deemed competent for reassignment. You will also be assigned duties on Trell as the masters see fit. If you are cooperative and your therapy goes well, the question of whether you can pursue post-graduate studies can be revisited at a later date.
  4. In light of the nature of the original charges, you are not permitted to have unsupervised contact with minors, Jedi or otherwise, until you complete sufficient re-training on Trell. This will require significant restriction and isolation during the first phase of your treatment.
  5. There is a No Contact Order in place against you for the following persons:



Obilessa Bella Antilles (victim)

Bella Dellaide Antilles (mother)

Ringus Goan Antilles (father)

Ringus Bail Antilles (brother)

Julian Prestor Antilles (brother)

Any additional children O.B.A. may have in the future.

  1. The child in question, Ben Lars K’Obi, has been accepted into the custody of the Jedi Child Development Department. It is advised you do not seek to contact him while he is a minor and if you do have contact with him after your restrictions are lifted, you are forbidden from identifying yourself as biological kin. You are permitted to register with the Familial Contact Office should he choose to meet you when he reaches the age of majority.
  2. You are expected to present yourself to the Temple authorities on Trell within sixty days of receiving these documents. Should you choose to leave the Order now or at any time, you are still required to present yourself for treatment before you can be released to the general population. Failure to meet these terms will lead to some or all of the previous charges being reinstated.



“Wow. They’ve really got you by the balls. Are you going to show up for brainwashing or are you going to stay here?”

Ben rolled his eyes. “What part of confidential did you not understand?” He elbowed his brother in the sternum, gratified when the teenager gasped. Served him right for reading over his shoulder. “And the Jedi are not going to brainwash me. Retraining is talk and group therapy and probably manual labor.”

“They’re Jedi,” Cliegg shrugged. “And you’re a weak one. Can’t they just mind trick you so you won’t fall for jailbait again?”

“Not permanently,” Ben sighed. “Not without a trial anyway. It has happened historically, there have been Dark Jedi and Dark Force users who used mind tricks to facilitate sex crimes. I was just foolish.”

“You were pretty dumb,” Cliegg agreed. “It’s different out here. If you got her pregnant out here you’d have to marry her. Or get chased down by a posse.”

Ben covered his eyes. “She said she had an implant.”

Cliegg snorted. “What, the Force didn’t tell you she was ovulating?”

Ben turned to glare at his brother. “I have strength in the Unifying Force, not the Living Force.”

Cliegg laughed harder. “The Force didn’t tell you that you were about to be a baby daddy?”

Ben lowered his head onto his crossed wrists. “No, it did not.” He frowned in the dark cave of his arms and the desk. “It felt right in the Force. That it was a path favored by the Light. I thought it meant I would be her lover and an ally, not a defendant.”

“What’s the image file?” Cliegg poked at it, but the confidential settings did not let him unlock it.

Ben raised his head and tapped it. The file opened to reveal a close up of a smiling, auburn-haired baby with eyes like the mountain lakes in Vinland, and skin even fairer than his own.

“Cute kid,” Cliegg nodded. “He better not come here. Fair skin like that would cook under the suns.”

Ben shuddered, not liking that idea either. “I’ve never seen a picture before. He’s beautiful.”

Cliegg peered at the text caption. “Ben Lars K’Obi? I thought you said her name was Antilles.”

“He’s a bastard,” Ben sighed. “His name is meant to identify his parents and signify his illegitimacy. It’s an old custom that’s dying out, but her parents were in charge and named him. They could have named him Obil Antilles Ke’Lars, but they wanted to protect their reputations. If he ever has children, they would take the name Kenobi, to create a new lineage.

“Ben’s a better name than Obil, even if you are a moron.” He looked at the baby again. He looked a little like their late mother. Ben had never known her. “Will the Jedi care if he’s a bastard?”

“No. Not in the Temple. He won’t even be told before he’s sixteen. If he manages to stay on track to be a knight, no one will care. If he ends up in the Service Corps, well . . . sometimes Service Corp Jedi are more influenced by civilians and they can take on more judgmental values. It depends.”

“You think he’ll be a knight?” Cliegg asked. “You weren’t.”

“He’d have to be stronger than me,” Ben snorted. He scrolled down the text box that gave basic health statistics, including midichlorian counts. “And . . . no. Ouch. He took after his mother I guess. That’s lower than mine.”

“Maybe you’ll work together,” Cliegg mused, but the Force didn’t seem to agree.

“Maybe.”

“What kind of weird thing do they have him strapped into?” Cliegg peered at the odd restraints on the baby. “Is it some sort of weird Jedi dragon or gargoyle statue for infant sacrifice and flatpic opportunities?”

Ben rolled his eyes. Every once in a while, Cliegg got off a real zinger, but usually he was just an obnoxious teenager who was bored in the Outer Rim wastelands. “I think that’s Master Yoda holding him.” He peered closer. “Yeah, Master Yaddle files her nails differently.”

“Master Yoda?”

“Not all Jedi are human.”

“Are all Jedi naïve virgins?”

“I wasn’t a virgin.”

“You said you’d never been with a girl before Princess Jailbait.”

Ben looked at him, waiting for him to get a clue.

“What, did you like, sleep with a guy?”

“No, I slept with _two_ guys.”

Cliegg looked vaguely disturbed. “Is that allowed? By the Jedi I mean?”

“Yes, _sex_ is allowed. Straight sex is allowed. Gay sex is allowed. Multi-person sex is allowed. Underage sex is not allowed and making babies is _really_ not allowed. That’s why I was in trouble.”

Cliegg sighed, kind of disturbed his brother had done that sort of thing with other guys. Of course, he had lived at a monastery. Maybe being a Jedi was like being in prison and there just weren’t any girls and that’s why he got stupid at the first opportunity.

“Are you going to this Trell? Are you going to stay a Jedi?”

“Yeah,” Ben sighed. “I’m going to Trell. Believe it or not I want to leave all this behind and stay a citizen of the Republic. As for staying a Jedi, I’m not sure.” The Force was still unclear about that.

“What if you don’t?” Cliegg asked. “What if you just say _screw them_?”

“Then I’d really be an idiot. And a fugitive from justice.”

“Would the Jedi Council send The Wraith after you?”

“I keep telling you, those holofilms were _bantha poodoo_.”

“No, they’re _true_. The Hutts put a bounty on him!”

“I didn’t say he didn’t exist. I said the films were inaccurate.” Ben shook his head. “They might put a bounty on me, but they wouldn’t want me dead.” He frowned. “The Queen of Alderaan might.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing you weren’t selected to be a Jedi Knight.”

“Oh, Force, yes.” He looked at the pic again. “Be a good boy, Ben. Be smart and brave and listen to the Force.”

“And check IDs first,” Cliegg added.

Ben sighed. He had sixty days to make the two week trip to Trell. He glanced at the brother he barely knew.

Maybe he’d leave tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little side-trip in the ATLL universe. Any thoughts? Did you enjoy getting a bit more of Obi-Wan's backstory? Any surprises? Wondering who The Wraith is? (He'll show up in ATLL soon).

**Author's Note:**

> ~~I am going to try to finish this up soonish, but it's a global pandemic and I still have to work 3 days a week to get my regular work done. No promises. Also, I can't write anything short. This was supposed to be the first scene and the last scene in the next part and instead we got this.~~
> 
> Finished! YAY!


End file.
